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Abstract: In many descriptions of American Sign Language (ASL), signs like [breakfast] are identified as compounds . These signs were once formed with two separate signs but have since fused into a single unit. This article presents an alternative definition of compound that includes both functional and formal properties. Following this updated definition, examples of ASL compounds are constructions like [name sign] and [sign language], which combine two object-concept words to name an object concept, as well as related constructions like [formal room] 'living room,' which also label object concepts. The updated definition of compound allows for terminological consistency and sets the stage for fuller understanding of the variety of multisign units in ASL.
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Mermaid Constructions in Lexical Functional Grammar
This paper provides a cross-linguistic analysis of Mermaid Constructions in terms of Lexical Functional Grammar. Mermaid Constructions, coined by Tsunoda (2020), are grammaticalized monoclausal constructions in which a verb and a noun, sometimes with a copula, form a compound predicate. However, the work was chiefly descriptive, and the morphosyntactic nature of Mermaid Constructions in theoretical terms has not yet been explained. In this work, in opposition to Tsunoda’s (2020) hypothesis, the following points are shown: (1) Mermaid Constructions are not monoclausal but biclausal; (2) Mermaid Constructions do not comprise a compound predicate, but are control and raising with a nominal predicate; (3) these findings hold cross-linguistically.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2109709
- PAR ID:
- 10451196
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Lexical-Functional Grammar Conference
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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